


The Ticking Clock

by PartiallyObscuredSomethingOrOther



Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Abuse, Anxiety Attacks, Blood and Injury, Branding, Choking, Dark, Darkiplier Mark Fischbach, Demonic Possession, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Ethan is sad boi, Fear, Hostage Situations, Kidnapping, Mark Fischbach Needs a Hug, Obsession, Obsessive Behavior, Physical Abuse, Revenge, Rope Bondage, Tears, Torture
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-27
Updated: 2020-11-27
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:33:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,873
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25548268
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PartiallyObscuredSomethingOrOther/pseuds/PartiallyObscuredSomethingOrOther
Summary: He awoke with a start, neck shifted down, craning towards the floor. Head pounding. Upon opening his eyes, there was nothing… blackness. Just a dimly lit room in the center of a mass of nothingness.In which Ethan finds himself in an unforeseen circumstance with an unknown capture... Hellbent on revenge.
Relationships: No Romantic Relationship(s)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 60





	1. A Rough Awakening

**Author's Note:**

> Hey there! First real fanfiction that I've written in years dedicated to the lovely Markiplier and my favorite of his many egos... Darkiplier. I hope you enjoy and please leave comments or suggestions for the story moving forward. Tentatively a one-shot story but will continue based on response. Thank you all so much for reading!

  
Dreams are a strange thing. The passage of time and how it moves within them. And while the ever-moving clock continues to turn, it seems as though no time has passed at all. The serenity… The calm nature of it… Soothing, a facade… Holds the person in its captive grip… As they fall further from reality… Further from the truth. 

* * *

He awoke with a start, neck shifted down, craning towards the floor. Head pounding. Upon opening his eyes, there was nothing… blackness. Just a dimly lit room in the center of a mass of nothingness. 

He fidgeted, finding his arms strapped with a dark binding of rope to the arms of a metal chair. The room was quiet. There was nothing. 

As the circumstances became clear and reality set in with its cold grasp, Ethan found himself struggling to breathe with the realization of his situation, fighting the grips of his restraints as panic took hold. Why was he here? What happened? 

He continued his furious attempt at escape, barely noticing his surroundings. Until something shifted, some small movement in the depth ahead of him. A footstep. Light, but purposed. Then another, followed by another, circling his vulnerable position. They continued, never moving closer. Just a constant circling, like a vulture eyeing its prey. 

He couldn’t think. He couldn’t speak. He couldn’t scream… The threat making its presence known, but never making itself seen. His desperate struggle continued, fighting those restraining ties. His ties to this position… this vulnerability. Tears came into his eyes as he finally felt the full weight of his helplessness taking hold. 

And then the footsteps began to approach, and he saw a dark figure enter the gloom of the dimly lit space. Looking into the man’s face… it was one he knew well… but at the same time, it couldn’t be further from the man he knew. 

At the edge of the lights’ expanse stood Mark Fischbach… same build… same face… But upon closer inspection, his eyes were deep, black voids… And his skin, rather than the sun-kissed tan he was used to, was a sickly grey tone… Everything was different, his disposition and his expression were one of something otherworldly. 

As they met eyes, Mark gave him a devilish smile, the deep rumble of his laugh breaking the silence of the room. “It seems you don’t like my accommodations,” he said, moving closer to Ethan to stroke his hand gently down his cheek.

Fear gripped Ethan’s chest at Mark’s cold touch. His hand felt like ice against his face and he shied away from the touch. A shiver ran up his spine as a tear rolled down his cheek…

“Aww don’t cry love, you’re with me,” that same devilish smile reappearing on his face as he backed into a section of the dark, and reemerged brandishing a silver blade. Ethan sank deeper into his confines, trying his damndest to back away from the approaching predator. 

“Don’t worry love. You know the deal… formalities and all,” he said with a laugh as he brought the knife close to Ethan’s neck, a whimper escaping his captive’s throat. “I won’t need to if you cooperate.”

“What… do you want?” Ethan stuttered through gritted teeth, trying to put up a front of confidence despite the shake in his voice. 

“Ahh, love… love, it’s not what I want… but what he doesn’t,” he paced behind the chair, stalking the length of the lit area. “You see… Mark seems to care about you an awful lot for reasons I could never understand… And while I have no qualms with you… A friend of Mark’s is an enemy of mine.”

He took the knife and with a swift motion cut down the expanse of Ethan’s shirt, successfully splitting it in two, exposing his stomach and chest. He trailed the knife further down, grazing it against his soft, supple skin. 

Ethan shivered at the touch of the cold blade, holding his breath for fear of what was to come. Gently, Mark pushed the knife against his stomach, carving a distinct line across it. Ethan gritted his teeth, exhaling sharply from the pain, as a small trail of blood began to run out of the afflicted area. 

Mark laughed, “You see, no harm done… nothing but a small bit of pain.” He then lifted the knife to his mouth, licking the small droplets of blood from the length of the blade. As his tongue curved back into his mouth, his form seemed to glitch in a strange way… similar to a game running on a low framerate… and with a blink, the glitch was gone and the knife had returned to Mark’s side. 

Confused and feeling discomfort from the pain in his stomach... He repeated his question, “What do you want...?”

“Ah… again with the questions… You see, pet… I want HIM to suffer… I want him to watch you scream… and cry… and beg… and hurt… He has trapped me for FAR too long… And he and those around him will suffer the consequences.”

“What… do you mean… who is he...who are you…?” Ethan stuttered, not understanding Mark’s incessant ramblings.

“He… Mark… the one who made me to watch him in his success… trapping me in the shadows of his mind to be locked away and forgotten… Well, I am finally here to take my revenge… And I will not go quietly… I am Darkiplier. But you, pet, can call me Dark.”


	2. A Familiar Face

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! So sorry for the long hiatus, I just have not had the creative energy or the time to update this fic in such a long time with school and work. Thank you for your support of the last chapter and I hope the addition of this next character is something that will add nicely to what I have established. Hope you enjoy!

And further, the dream progresses... Ensnaring you in her toxic grasp and showing you pieces of yourself you tried so hard to distinguish… That lingering touch of sympathy and longing for things that once were… and hope for things to be… Twisted and pulled with the chime of her bells…

* * *

**Ethan’s POV**

And again the room fell silent with the harsh clank of a hidden door… nothing left but Ethan’s small pants and the gentle hum of the iridescent bulb above him. The silence eating away at the fragile space in Dark’s absence.

It could have been minutes… hours... since Dark left the room… but in his absence, all sense of time and belonging was lost and Ethan was left at the mercy of his own mind. The whirring of that light… as simple and small as it was… causing his thoughts to echo and magnify… panic reasserting its presence in his mind…

It was funny how the presence of Dark seemed preferable to his absence to Ethan in this extended time… The adrenaline of Dark’s presence was favorable to the overwhelming sense unknowing that engulfed his thoughts…

Well into his own trifle with his ever lingering sanity… Dark reappeared… or so he assumed hearing the clank of the metal door once more… the shadows revealing that same twisted grin. He knew the creature's sinister nature… but something… strange… some longing in his mind forced a small grin to his face seeing another person again… even if the monster had ill intent.

“Aw… pet. I didn’t realize my absence was so distressing to you… I’ll be sure to stick around more often” Dark chimed. “And I’m sure something in your twisted mind will love the reason I came back”

He came closer, gently running the back of his hand down Ethan’s cheek in an almost tantalizing manner… his touch much too gentle compared to his appearance. A shiver ran down Ethan’s spine, the cold of the room suddenly seeming so much greater at the touch of the creature’s hand.

Slowly, Dark’s hand moved down further, suddenly landing in a position around Ethan’s throat… and applying a gentle pressure, causing the boy’s breath to hitch… panic quickly replacing the relaxation of the man’s touch. They stayed in that position for what felt like an eternity… That is until Dark withdrew… completely receding back into the darkness and his footsteps faded…

Fear consumed his mind at the reason behind Dark’s sudden and silent departure… leaving Ethan feeling more alone and empty then before his return. Soon, he heard the creature reenter the room… but this time with a second set up footsteps following behind.

“You see love, I thought you would like a slight… change of pace… if you will.” And he emerged from the darkness, followed closely by another, slightly smaller figure… “And what a better way to make your stay more… enjoyable… then to add another to the fun.” Suddenly the smaller man was shoved into the light, collapsing in an ungraceful manner at Ethan’s feet with an almost inaudible yelp of surprise. Light blue irises met his own. The man had dark brown hair, a shadow of a beard framing his jaw and lips. He wore a tattered hoodie and sweats, looking disheveled and exhausted.

“Sean…”

* * *

**Sean’s POV**

The room was unforgiving… cold. He sat there, staring into the expanse of the darkness, the pain still consuming his wrist from the brand Dark had left on it hours before. A dark, raw burn forever imprinted into his skin. _Why am I here? How did this happen?_

He was shaking… the panic of the situation, the cold of the room, and the pain in his wrist causing tears to come to his eyes. I never asked for this. _What have I done wrong to end up here?_

Those incessant thoughts continued to pester him… that is until he heard that all too familiar clang of the door… with Dark’s pale figure suddenly returning in front of him. He shied away in response, the memory of his last encounter bringing on his fight or flight sense…

“Don’t be afraid, love. I’m not here to hurt you.” He said, slowly brandishing a knife from behind his back. “I just thought you might like a change of scenery.” Slowly, Dark cut the binds from his wrists and ankles.

He wanted to run… to get the fuck away from his tormentor… However, he moved away from the thought of what the monster could do to him when he was angry… the thought of the blade entering his back enough to hold him in place… frozen.

Sean was roughly pulled from the chair, the knife remaining in Dark’s hand… a silent but persistent threat… “Follow me, darling. Let’s take a little walk.” And the creature assuredly moved to the door, Sean following silently behind. They walked through a series of confusing corridors, a labyrinth of unknown rooms and hallways stretching out before them until they landed on a room that closely resembled his own.

There in the center of the dimly lit space was a boy with dark brown hair resembling his own. His shirt was roughly split, exposing his chest and abdomen with a small cut going down the center, dried blood traveling down his body. The boy was straining his eyes to see into the darkness… to see the threat approaching him. Ethan.

Pulled roughly from his thoughts from Dark’s forceful hand shoving him to the ground in front of his younger friend, he looked towards the boy fearfully, seeing the recognition in Ethan’s face… and a lingering fear at the state of the man and the idea of what Dark could have brought him here for.

This was going to be a hellish time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading and any feedback, comments, suggestions are ALWAYS appreciated. Again, thank you for your support and I hope to continue writing and get another chapter up by the end of next week!


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